Online magazine the Escapist reassures us that as long as we understand genre, scary games cannot hurt us and in fact, will make us happy:

Genre pleasure, that warm feeling you get when you see a dead hooker on the ground, is our reward for breaking free of our social constraints in an exercise in fantasy.

The article goes on to focus on survival horror, but I dwell on the GTA reference: this is the crux of the games-are-bad-for-children argument, and was my point about the little girl who loved GTA: the responsibility for protecting children from evil influences lies with parents, who are the only ones who possess the power of genre education.

It's not enough to point at the screen and tell them that what they're seeing is not real (but it's a very good start). You have to explain why, give examples, and make sure they know that entertainment relies on exaggeration.

GTA is fun because it's ridiculous, and allows you to do things you would never actually do. This last bit is important: the very thick, dark line between make-believe and the actual living of life. Give them the context with which to understand this assertion, and do it early.

When a child understands the difference, they're mature enough to play with the big boys. Eliza gauger

Pleasurable Genres [the Escapist, via Digg]

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